From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos
The Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Rural Development has handed over Cassava Processing Facility to the people of Igbodu In its efforts to empower its rural dwellers and reduce post harvest losses.
The Commissioner for Rural Development, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi said the State Government decided to provide the facility having noticed that the community is predominantly a cassava planting community to boost their economic capacity.
He noted that with the provision of the facility farmers can now operate to their maximum capacity because they are sure of a facility to process their yields if they don’t want to sell their cassava as raw product without fear of it getting spoilt.
Ojelabi commended the community for their warm reception and support for the Center for Rural Development (CERUD) a government research institute sited in their community and disclosed that government is always willing to support communities that are accommodative of government developmental programmes.
He however urged them to constantly maintain the projects very well for the State Government to bring more to them, he disclosed at the ceremony that the Ministry of Rural development has established a cassava multiplication field at the Centre for Rural Development (CERUD) to supply enriched vitamin A cassava cuttings to the farmers to improve the nutritional values of cassava.
The Director Rural Agriculture, Mr. Habeeb Giwa said the Ministry installed the facility with the capacity to process 7 tonnes of processed cassava tubers per day to cope with the rapidly increasing demand of farmers in the community.
The Chairman of all farmers Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter, Otunba Femi Oke while responding on behalf of the community appreciated the State Government for all the projects witnessed in Igbodu-Jaloye Community of which the Gari Processing Facility is one of them.
He noted that the facility has commenced production and has provided employment for people in the community.
He however solicited for the assistance of the State Government in providing utility vehicles like farmer’s tricycles to convey the cassava from various farmers to the processing facility and also plead for constant electricity supply for the community as the Local Government has since been cut off from the National grid.
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